ZIP 50602 vs ZIP 50611

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50602 (Allison, IA) and ZIP 50611 (Bristow, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50602 has a population of 1,603 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 50611 has 392 at 5 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 50602 reports a median household income of $67,188 against $84,250 in ZIP 50611, with per-capita income of $39,387 vs $35,110. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.8% in 50602 and 8.0% in 50611. Poverty rate reads 10.2% vs 15.7%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 0.0% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $118,100 in 50602 versus $93,300 in 50611, with median rent of $725 and $358 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.6% vs 91.9%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.